Membership
States that participate in IESLN activities include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
IESLN states
Many states do not have any staff with time dedicated to Indigenous education at their state education agency. This is true of
- states with federally recognized Tribal nations (Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia);
- states with state-recognized Tribal nations (Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Vermont); and
- other states with Native students (Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia).
IESLN's Founding in 2016
IESLN was founded at the 2016 “Closing the American Indian Opportunity Gap” conference held by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Indian Education Association and the national Comprehensive Center network.
Original states: Arizona, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska,* New Mexico, North Carolina,* North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Utah.
* Nebraska and North Carolina do not currently have SEA Indigenous education staff.
IESLN at NIEA 2019
IESLN has expanded to include Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Wyoming. Currently participating states educate more than three fourths of AI/AN students in the United States.
IESLN at NIEA 2022
IESLN members meet monthly to share materials and resources, build strong partnerships between state education agencies and with national Indigenous education organizations, collaborate on shared projects, and solve problems of practice together.
